


A Cookie Disaster

by WordBug



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Captain Swan Secret Santa, Christmas Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 19:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13130715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordBug/pseuds/WordBug
Summary: Killian prided himself as a patient man but he was one incident away from tearing his hair out and reducing to a ball of tears. It was almost afternoon and nothing was right, and his sweet, amazing girlfriend was almost tipsy from the spiked eggnog when her mother was supposed to come in the evening.He thought he had handled it all when he tucked Emma in. He was in for a surprise.





	A Cookie Disaster

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gingerchangeling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingerchangeling/gifts).



Killian prided himself as a patient man. He would never honk uselessly when stuck in a traffic. He never got riled up by petty taunts, much to Will Scarlet’s chagrin. And he would only get mildly irritated when Liam pulled his leg. In hindsight, he feels he should have fought a little bit more so that his elder brother would have been less insufferable. He always had been a precocious child in that regard, his mother used to say. But he didn’t feel bad about it. It was because of this patience that he had been able to break through Emma Swan’s walls. Given a chance, he’d do it all over again if it meant having Emma in his life.

Killian prided himself as a patient man but he was one incident away from tearing his hair out and reducing to a ball of tears. It was almost afternoon and nothing was right, and his sweet, amazing girlfriend was almost tipsy from the spiked eggnog he had kept for the evening. He could imagine the look of disappointment on Ruth’s - Emma’s adoptive mother’s - face when she would come in that evening and find nothing right. That brought in another wave of anxiety. He started to look for Emma, hoping to find some comfort in her arms, only to find her fiddling with the controls of the oven. 

“Swan...” he shouted as he hastily made his way towards her, hoping to prevent the damage that may occur. But the beep of the machine and the burning smell that had started spreading in his apartment informed him otherwise. Emma was about to open the door when he caught her hand, not trusting that she wouldn’t get hurt.

“I am sorry, Killian,” she spoke as her lips formed a pout. She brought her hands to hold her ears but Killian stopped her. Drunk Emma was absolutely adorable and he didn’t want her to feel bad for him. Knowing her drunken self, he knew that her self loathing was just about to come.

“It’s okay, love,” Killian spoke, tucking away the wayward strands of hair from her face. She sighed as she closed her eyes, snuggling against his hand. He gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb as she brought her face closer to his hand. Killian smiled, seeing the calm that had descended on her face. She looked beautiful. He was absolutely besotted by her, whipped as Will called him, but he couldn’t care less. Killian Jones would destroy a thousand batch of cookies if this was the result. Thankfully, he was just on his second batch.

Leaning against the kitchen counter with Emma by his side, he assessed the damage that had been done. Under the oven’s orange light, the cookies looked absolutely charred and he knew they’d be far worse when he took them out. The bowl of spiked eggnog was almost half empty. The chicken was still sitting in its place, untouched and he thanked his stars for the small miracles. Some of the boiled potatoes were painfully mashed but some were still intact. Small victories, he thought.

His girlfriend, on the other hand, was finally out. She was playing with his shirt’s button, as she continuously dozed off against his chest. He smiled. Bending down, he picked her up bridal style as she broke into laughter swinging her legs like a kid and snuggling against his chest. Killian smiled, seeing her carefree like this. Emma Swan was a tough woman, shaped by her past. She didn’t open up easily. They had been going out for almost a year, yet there would be times when she’d close him off completely. She had a hard exterior, so it was quite a rare sight to see her like this.

Placing her gently on his bed, he moved around to place the comforter. She was dressed in his sweats, coming directly from a stakeout to his place. Her mother was coming in the evening and they were hosting her. Killian was grateful to Emma for coming to his place to support him. Ever since she had told him that her mother was coming to meet them on Christmas Eve, Killian had been extremely nervous. This was a huge step in their relationship. They hadn’t even said those three words. He knew how he felt, his feelings were on the tip of his tongue, but he was aware that Emma would run away in an instant if he said it out loud. He knew that she felt the same but she still wasn’t secure about her feelings for him and he was happy to wait. He was a patient man. 

She curled herself, tugging the comforter close to her as she sought warmth. Her hair fanned across the pillow and Killian couldn’t help but marvel over his luck that this woman came to his life. Sitting near her, he tucked a strand behind her ear when she sleepily spoke.

“Killian… I am so happy that you’re in my life.”

He smiled seeing her like. He knew she couldn’t register whatever she was saying but he decided to indulge her.

“I am too love… I am too.”

“Killian...”

“Yes love?”

“Your raisin cookies are amazing. Too bad mom can’t eat it as she is allergic to it.”

And there went his third batch of cookies. He groaned thinking about the batter he had set aside to make his speciality. Killian loved cooking, especially baking. On their second date, when Emma had fallen sick, he had brought her food and Emma often joked that she had continued going out with him because he could cook. Whenever he visited Liam during the holidays, he’d inadvertently end up in the kitchen shooing Elsa away. It was like a stress buster for him. But today, cooking seemed to be giving him a headache. He started planning again when Emma spoke again.

“Hopefully next Christmas I’ll get to meet Liam.”

Killian let out a dopey smile seeing her like that. Emma had always talked in her sleep. He loved listening to her babble nonsense. But today it seemed she was in an affectionate mood. It warmed his heart to see her thinking about next year, especially together.

“He’s gonna love you, Emma,” he murmured, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. It was already two and he had to plan the dessert from the scratch. He started moving, when she turned holding his hand.

“My mum’s gonna love him… like me… I wish he’d stop worrying.”

He almost froze hearing her confession. He was sure that she wouldn’t remember when she’d wake up. But the fact that she could say it in her sleep made him ecstatic. It meant that she had started believing in him - in them - and that was the best gift he could ask for Christmas. Slowly, he extracted his hand out of her hold and got up. She had turned again and was holding his pillow, her breath completely even indicating she had completely fallen asleep. He watched her sleep from the door for a few more minutes before he went out to get started on the evening food. Sure, she was in love with him, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t kill him if he didn’t cook.

  


***

  


Emma groaned as she woke up, her head hurting like it could burst into a million pieces. She didn’t know what time it was or where she was, only having faint remembrance of standing with Killian near his over. Massaging her head, she looked around and found herself looking at Killian’s belongings. She sighed; so it wasn’t a dream. As she took the medicine put on the bedside table, she tried to remember why she had come there. The digital clock buzzed to alert her it was six in the evening. She turned around wanting to stop the shrill noise when she saw the date, it was 23rd December. Her mother was supposed to come meet them and she was late to pick her up. As she stumbled out of the bed, managing to get herself hurt from the table, she heard laughter and stopped short. It couldn’t be. For weeks Killian had been stressing about her mother’s arrival and he had gone and brought her to his place without her help? Surely she was dreaming. Stealthily she made her way to the door and saw her mom and her boyfriend sitting on the couch discussing something. She smiled seeing them like this. Not wanting to disturb the moment, she went back to make herself presentable.

If someone had told Emma a year back that she’d have almost one-third of her wardrobe at a guy’s house so that she could choose, she’d have called that someone nuts. But here she was. Somehow Killian had wormed his way into her heart. They had met by chance when she accidentally pushed him while chasing her perp, but he had helped her in taking the same perp down. After that, they had gone to a diner where they talked for hours. He had asked her out on another date and she ended up saying yes. When she fell sick and was unable to meet him, he had come bearing food for her and it had surprised her. That is what he did: he surprised her pleasantly. He had held her hand when she had told her about Neal and his abandonment due to a false pregnancy scare. He had waited for her when she felt that they were moving too fast and she had left. He had taken care of her when she got gravely injured after a chase gone wrong. Never once he had left her and she loved him for that.

Love - that was another surprise for her. The butterflies in her stomach whenever she saw him. Emma was waiting to gather enough courage to say the same to him because she knew without a doubt that he loved her too but was waiting for her.

She took the out the blush pink dress that she had saved specifically for this occasion. It was soft, feminine, and it made her feel safe. She knew she didn’t need to dress for the occasion as it was just a dinner with her boyfriend and her mom, but Killian had gone the extra mile and she felt he deserved the same. Opting to leave her hair loose, she made her way out when she heard her mom cajoling Killian to try to give one of his recipes. 

“Sorry, Ruth… it’s the family secret,” he smiled as he took out the chicken from the oven.

“It’s vanilla, right? That’s the secret ingredient?” Emma found her mother pouting and she couldn’t help the laugh that broke out of her.

“The sleeping beauty awakes,” Killian smiled as Ruth made her way towards her. Engulfing her in a hug, she appraised her.

“Darling…. You look so beautiful. But you should have told me about it.”

“About what?” Emma looked confusedly at her. She thought she’d get an earful for not being able to pick her up.

“About the stakeout, Emmy,” Ruth spoke as she continued making a fuss over Emma. “Killian told me how you had an overnight stakeout and came late and just crashed. You shouldn’t work too hard.”

As Ruth started running her hands around Emma’s face, the latter chanced a look at her boyfriend who was trying hard to hide his grin. He even had the gall to tip the glass of eggnog towards her and Emma, being a mature adult, instead of being grateful to him for saving her ass, poked her tongue out.

“Dinner’s ready!” Killian called out as both the women made their way towards the table.

  


***

  


The dinner was a lively affair as Ruth regaled Killian with Emma’s childhood stories after she was adopted. With every passing moment, a sense of comfort settled within him. He was grateful to his girlfriend whose hand found his every now and then, and if Ruth saw the exchange, she never made a comment. After the dinner was over, Killian brought out the eggnog.

“You know darling, your boyfriend is an excellent cook,” Ruth spoke taking a sip, “Rum?” she asked Killian and he nodded.

“It’s one of the main reasons I am dating him, mum,” Emma giggled as Ruth joined her while Killian let out a dramatic sigh.

“I thought it was for my charming personality and devilishly handsome looks, eh, Swan?”

“Well… that certainly helps… but babe, I never hid that from you, did I? I am afraid you’re stuck with me.”

“There’s no other place I’d rather be, Swan,” Killian said, placing a gentle kiss on Emma’s forehead. 

The dinner had gone amazingly well and he was sad that Ruth had to leave. He had never thought that the evening would go like this; the anticipation of this day had him up for so many nights, but here they were helping Ruth with her luggage.

“Cinnamon?” Ruth asked as they waited for the cab to arrive making him laugh.

“Close enough. It’s a family secret.”

“I know...” Ruth laughed. “I just hope that you share it with my daughter someday,” she winked at him as the driver helped them with her luggage.

“I hope for the same, Ruth. Safe travels.”

The elder woman gave him a hug that Killian returned with the same amount of affection. She made her way towards the daughter who stood there hiding her tears.

“Emmy… you know… if it wasn’t your aunt’s surgery, I’d have stayed.”

“I know, Mom… it’s just the dust that got into my eye. Nothing else.”

“If you say so, sweety,” Ruth smiled taking her daughter into a hug. “Don’t let him go. He loves you,” she whispered.

“And I him, Mom,” Emma spoke softly as she kissed her mother goodbye.

“Merry Christmas, Emma!”

“Merry Christmas.”

  


***

  


It was almost midnight when Killian and Emma cleared up the mess. They hadn’t spoken since they had returned after seeing off Ruth, working in comfortable silence. Emma appreciated it. It always became a bit emotional for her whenever she had to part from her mother. Ruth had taken her in when no one had and it had strengthened their bond. Emma loved her mother and it meant so much to her that she had ended up liking Killian too. She remembered how Ruth had barely accepted Neal once upon a time for Emma’s sake, and had refrained from saying ‘I told you so’ when the latter had returned with a heartbreak. So her acceptance of Killian carried a whole lot of weight.

As Emma made her way to the kitchen, she saw the cookies lying on the counter. She loved Killian’s cookies. It was artistic, the way he cooked, if someone could say that about cooking, and his raisin cookies were divine. She was completely full but she couldn’t resist taking a bite. As she took a bite, she was completely expecting the chocolate to attack her senses but found herself pleasantly surprised by the the flavor of honey and oatmeal.

“Babe… where are your raisin cookies? I thought I saw the batter when I came in the morning.”

“Huh?” Killian called out as he made his was out of the washroom.

“Where are your raisin cookies?”

“I threw them. Your mum is allergic to raisins, remember?” Killian called out as he started stacking the gifts Ruth had bought for them under the tree.

“You threw them? Are you insane? Wait… how do you know my mum has an allergy?” Emma asked confused, taking out another cookie. The cookies were amazing and she couldn’t stop eating them. But she couldn’t figure out how he knew that her mom had an allergy.

“You told me, love. So another Star Wars marathon or a Christmas movie?”

“Christmas. And no I didn’t tell you. I’d remember if I had.” Emma spoke hurriedly, trying to remember when she had told him. She’d remember, won’t she? Had she hit her head? Was she dreaming? She was sick, wasn’t she? She was gonna die. Her brain started listing out numerous scenarios before she pinched herself to stop thinking. She had to cut out her time spent in watching soap operas. She looked towards Killian, who was busy looking for the movies - too busy, if the rigid set of his shoulders was any indication.

“Killian… I didn’t tell you to your face, did I?” Emma asked carefully, waiting for her lie detector to buzz.

“Well, technically you did,” Killian murmured, and if she wasn’t concentrating hard she’d have missed it totally. Taking the bowl of cookies she came to sit beside him.

“But...” Emma trailed waiting for him to complete it. The silence stood still when he let out a sigh and she knew she had won the battle.

“You weren’t exactly cognizant when you gave me that piece of information. I am glad though, else I wouldn’t have let myself live that down.”

“Killian… stop changing the subject.”

“Kay… When you had graciously helped yourself to eggnog and dozing off, you started talking in your sleep.”

Emma groaned, hiding her face. She didn’t want to know what else she had said. She had a tendency to blabber in her sleep. Killian found it endearing, but she found it infuriating even if she couldn’t hear herself. Ruth had always teased her that she’d spill secrets in her sleep.

“What did I say Killian?” Emma demanded, making Killian laugh as he brought her closer to him.

“Nothing much. You gave me some information about your mother. Though I never knew you wanted to visit my brother. I am not exactly thrilled about it though. He’d have a blast out of regaling you with the exaggerated childhood stories of mine. You said your mother would love me as...” he stopped not sure how to continue further. He knew what she felt but he didn’t want to corner her like that.

Emma almost stopped breathing as he trailed off towards the end of the conversation. She knew how that line ended, having recited the same countless times to appease her mind. She appreciated his gesture, but whether it was the eggnog or the fact that her mother approved, she didn’t want to hold it any longer.

“As I love you,” she whispered softly against his chest and she could swear she felt his heart skip a beat.

“I love you, too,” he spoke softly, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“I know,” Emma said as she moved away from his embrace so that she could kiss him properly. 

Emma could swear Christmas had never felt merrier than this.

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas Kit (gingerchangeling). I really hope you like it. And I hope you've an amazing day with your family and may this festival bring all the joy and happiness in your life and hope you start the year with a bang. 
> 
> Thank you Kaitlyn (spartanguard) for going over it. You're a gem.


End file.
